Tamora Pierce’s work has been cited by many Young Adult fantasy authors as a major influence in recent years. Despite this, her work remains relatively obscure among librarians and readers of Young Adult literature. This paper examined one of Pierce’s Young Adult fantasy series, Protector of the Small, by comparing the series to existing works of Young Adult fantasy literature commonly accepted as classic or canonical literature. Among the comparative works were titles authored by C. S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, and Philip Pullman. Comparison was character-focused, with emphasis on the representation of parents, other sympathetic adults, peers, and family units. Some comparison was also focused on the representation of antagonists in the selected works. The aim of the comparative analysis was to serve as a guide for librarians, teachers, and readers of Young Adult literature to better understand potential target audiences for the Protector of the Small quartet. It was found that target audiences for the series would likely seek or benefit from the Protector of the Small quartet’s inclusion of supportive parental and mentor figures, strong familial bonds, and supportive and communicative peers. Target audiences would also seek literature with nuanced antagonists capable of character growth. Most prominently, target audiences would seek Young Adult fantasy literature that addresses real-world issues and challenges for young women, including sexism, puberty, and reproductive healthcare.

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Mountaintop removal is an issue that has plagued Appalachia as companies harvest coal from the mountains and cause consequent environmental and community effects. By focusing on three contemporary young adult novels that feature mountaintop removal, correlations between the novels and the real environmental and community effects can be drawn. The novels examined include: Saving Wonder by Mary Knight (2016), Dig Too Deep by Amy Allgeyer (2016), and The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton (2015). Mountaintop removal is a devastating and invasive process, and the costs on the land and people are irreversible as landscapes are drastically altered, water faces pollution, and communities suffer from health issues and mining accidents. Through the problems presented in the novels and their accurate descriptions of the mountaintop removal process, the fictional stories help prove that young adult literature has a purpose, teaches lessons, takes positions on controversial environmental issues, promotes critical thinking, and helps readers better understand their world. Therefore, if these novels can impart knowledge to readers about an environmental process and its consequences, it follows that other young adult novel can hold similar lessons for readers.

Ruinous Wings is a young adult fantasy novel that examines the drive to seek power and how the power of others can shape our lives. In a world where the gods grant magic to favored mortals through divine birds, those who lack the proper training and affluence are often left at the mercy of Volitants, those who have been blessed with magic. Aina is a pickpocket whose only trusted friend was killed in a Volitant's battle. Vib is a thief and a liar obsessed with the pursuit of fame, even as she runs from her past. Kay is an apprentice historian in a Volitant temple, trapped in a life he does not want for the crimes of his family. When Aina steals a divine bird and is given destructive magic from a mysterious god, the three must work together to stop a brewing war and decide what power is worth to them.

Allow me to introduce you to AN ELEPHANT'S STANDING IN THERE, a whimsical story about an elephant standing in a little boy's bedroom that I wrote for my children many years ago. Though my kids have grown up themselves, I've held on to this tale because of the wonderful memories my family and I shared while reading it together. After stumbling back onto the story roughly a year ago while going through some old things, an idea popped into my head. My daughter, a lovely young lady named Kody, had heard this story many times when she was a young girl. She had also developed an exceptional talent for illustration. I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be fun if Kody illustrated our story for other families to share?" And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what we've done. From my family to yours, we sincerely hope you enjoy AN ELEPHANT'S STANDING IN THERE, the first in what Kody and I hope will be a long series of stories for children. --Scott / https://dc.etsu.edu/alumni_books/1030/thumbnail.jpg

This study was conducted to determine how immigrants and the immigration experience are represented in current young adult (YA) literature. In the study, I asked the following questions: Who are the immigrant characters in recent YA books? Why do they come? How do they experience immigration? How are they perceived or treated by others? A content analysis methodology was used to examine, from a critical literacy viewpoint, recent young adult novels with immigration themes. Data were analyzed by identifying and interpreting patterns in themes across 22 YA novels with immigrant protagonists or other important characters, published between 2013 and 2017. Data indicated that the protagonists in the study reflected current immigration trends fairly accurately, came to the United States primarily to escape violence or persecution in their home countries, experienced a variety of challenges, tended to hold onto their home country cultures, and were often the objects of racism, but also found kindness and friendship in the United States. Teachers who desire to include authentic immigrant literature in their classroom libraries should consider from whose perspectives the books have been written, and learn about the authors' backgrounds and the messages that authors want to convey through the books that they write. In addition, immigrants can be encouraged to write children's and young adult books, sharing their experiences and contributing to the supply of realistic immigrant literature with complex and authentic immigrant characters.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Houston, 1989. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-95).

Children’s literature might be considered the “holy well” providing healing refreshment and a direct path forward for the soul of every child: a troubled youngster, a young person experiencing a life trial, or a student seeking enlightenment. Whether folklore depicting animals congregating at the water hole at their time of need, learning to share and care; or realistic fiction presenting varying “time of drought” scenarios, and the resolution or healing necessary thereto; or even non-fiction revealing humanity’s dependence on clean water, and the knowledge necessary to help budding scientists, one-day, protect water sheds, these literary genres sustain children during their formative years and beyond. Without these literary selections, children founder and do not appropriately climb developmental ladders, in fact regress into unhealthy social, emotional or intellectual states of mind. This paper contemplates three categories of children’s literature carrying the theme of spiritual development /healing and/or intellectual enlightenment: folklore, realistic fiction, and non-fiction. Books carrying themes, images, and symbols associated with the healing and life-sustaining qualities of water will especially be highlighted within these categories to reveal how each title selected for interpretation either: 1) quenches a child’s thirst for the internationalization of a life lesson or moral; 2) provides a means of resolving a problem or healing a wound; or 3) delivers knowledge necessary to the perpetuation of safe drinking water on our planet. Titles selected for examination based in this theory of sustainability, this allusion to the Irish concept of a “holy well,” will be analyzed with regard to their ability to assist children on spiritual and intellectual levels, in a lasting, long-term fashion, providing wisdom, healing, and learning for the well-being of past, present, and future generations.

The purpose of this study is to determine if elementary school libraries in west central Florida provide diverse, inclusive collections of LGBTQAI+ material in a safe space, and, if they do, to ascertain the librarians' understanding of, and satisfaction with, how that material is cataloged and classified. I wanted to know whether the literature was easily located, or, conversely, if the library classification tools and practices either misrepresented non-normative students or failed to represent them at all, given the potential impacts on students' self-acceptance. To answer these questions, I surveyed 41 private, independent, and public librarians, 10 of whom volunteered for in-depth, semi-structured interviews. During the interviews, I explored how the librarians used lists, thesauri, tagging, ratings, and spine labels to supplement their catalog searches. As none of this work happens in a vacuum, I also examined the paradigm in which the librarians do their work. I approached this study as a humanist, through a feminist lens, using Queer Theory and Whiteness studies. I was not seeking a unitary truth but rather a thick description of each librarian's perspectives and decisions concerning their collection management and cataloging procedures, contextualized within their daily demands as school librarians and, in the case of the public school librarians, technology specialists. My research found a group of librarians dedicated to their work, each of whom approached the management of LGBTQAI+ literature from their own positionality, ranging from those who denied that elementary students needed this literature at all, to those who wanted to provide it but were restricted by time, budget, and parental and administration censorship, to those who boldly proclaimed "I'm not afraid."

High school is bad enough with cliques, coursework, and the impending threat of college – now some old evil is coming to Solomon Starek High School (SSH for short). It’s up to transfer student Ella, older than time and unthinkably powerful, to stop it. Ella’s certainly up to the task, but the world’s changed since the last time she was in it. Society has merged magic with science, and Ella’s not sure she’s up for that. Can her new classmates help her stop what’s coming, or will they fall short? This excerpt tracks Ella’s first days at school, and sets the stage for the chaos to come.